The Sun. — London, England, 1810-03-23 00:00:00

. ti -;t 11e:rierlse Power, which was constantly increas ieg, and which had hitherto been exerted but to the of those who opposed it, he thought, it trehable we might have to contend against it for very existence. With this impression 'on his !wild; he thought it was necessary to foster, encou- Lige, and -even to seek out military talent, that we might be enabled to meet it, and resist it with suc cess. -He concluded by moving 4, That Sir R. Wilson, and the troops under his command. by entering Spain in September, 1808, in the moment of peril .I,d alarm, and by. the resolution they displayed in the face of a so pet for force till the ensuing May; when Sir R. Wilson fell back to join the army of Lord ‘ , Vellington, under vk horn he served as a Brigadier-General, had rendered services to the • crop mon cause which merited the thanks of that -HouSe, , .v Inch the :;peaker.should be di rated to communicate to that officer." The CHANCELLOR of the EXCHEQUER was cer tain tici `disposition existed to undervalue the ser vice. of Si'r R. Wilson. As far as they went, they will deserved - every encomium the Hon. Gentleman bestewed on them. It was, however, o un what they had ever done before, to vote thanks . where no signal instance of victory called for them, that valuable and important as his services were, he c nil not accede ro the motion. He hoped the Hon. Gentleman would withdraw it, and not corn-. pel him (as he otherwise must) to oppose it, and -House to refuse their thanks, as, he apprehend cs in -that case they would. The Hon. Gentleman • cist have been partly ,aware it could not . te ac ceded te e As he had stated there were no precedents for such a motion. He must also be aware that -there Were many gallant affairs in the course of that eampaign which had not received their thanks ; that even the battle of the - Douro, • brilliant as was that action, had not been deemed of sufficient import mice to call for that honour,• an honour which, he ,i4s of opinion, ought not to be confetred but on ,some signal occasion. Mr. CANNING thought the grounds stated by his Right Hon Friend, and the general conduct of the , House precluded the possibility of carrying the mo tion, at least in such a manner as would be gratify ing to t hat meritorious Officer. Valuable as his ser . - vices were, they were not such as to call for the Thanks of that House. They must all remember runny such applications having been made, and the ;notions being subsequently withdrawn. That he - thought would he done in the present instance, if the feelings of Sr Robert Wilson were properly con ' suited. The battle of the Douro had not been thought - intitled to such an honour. The cavalry belonging • to the army engaged at Corunna, and General Paget, who bore a sufficient mark of having deserved well of his country, had not been included in the thanks given. by that House; he, therefore, was of ()pi - nion, they could not with propriety give them to Sir R. Wilson. -The Hon. Gentleman seemed with out cause to think his services spoken lightly of ; and in a former debate, some remarks had been made on Lord Wellington having spoken of him as being " an able partizan ;" in so expressing himself, he conceived that Noble Lord had no intentions, of her than that of so charalerising that service in w hid, Sir R. Wilson had so eminently distinguished himself ; and w hich, if it did not entitle him to the thanks of that House, had gained him the esteem of every man in it. General_TAßl.wrox would bear testimony to the merits of Sir R. Wilson, but had reasons for being or opinion it would be best to withdraw the motion. Wi‘h respect to what had been said - of theapplica •tion of the word " 1-,Arti7,n" to H. I t o would observe, a " .partizan" was a General in mi niai ore. Ile was his own Commissariat, his own Cluarter-marer, Adjutant, &c. and had to procure his own intelligence. It was the best field tor Offi cers to display their talents in, and for torthing a G,:neral. He thought the motion would be well withdrawn; and the state of Europe was such that it could not fail of affording Sir R. Wilson ample opportunities of distinguishing himself, so that the thanks of Parliament would be awarded to him • without hesitation. Lord CASTLEREAGH aanowledged, in the most fiA:ering manner, the services of the gallant Offi , cer, but he was of opinion that it was a mater of great'delicacy and difficulty, and therefore that the House should be cautious how it indulged its feel ing of q), , lause and appi obation. The fad was, the sei vice was not performed in the British, but in, the P rtngue , fle army ; certainly great praie was duty for hip exertions in forming a corps there, which 'per formed many gallant achievements; still the House s4 , onld be-c,ireful to place a limit to its rewards, and give a dignity to those already conferred, by bestow.:. ing them as-the, reward of greater sert;ides. He was sure Sir R. Wilsoh himself w , uld be the last person to draw any personal satisfaction hom the sacrifice the House should make were this rneaiure pursued. :He said the united feeling of this House was the f;`‘, warmest approbation of the gallantry,of the Hon. Officer, and concluded ,by hoping the Hon. Mem ber would withdrawa his motion. • After some remarks from 'Sir James Hall, Mr. Hutchinson expressed his gratifica , ion at hearing the.merited praises bestowed on pia gallant Friend, all& as the House did not seem to wish to go any lenths, he consented to withdraw his rnution. I'h CHANCELLOR of the ExcamuEit'regretted the absence of a Noble Lord, horn whom he wished to learn the nature of the questions and re-_ solutions which are to take place next Monday, re latite to the'Expedition to the Scheldt. It was an - Swercd, they, would principally concern the policy . of the EXpeditioni and the appointment of Lord Chatham. TfiEASURER OF THE POST-OFFICE, DUBLIN, 4 Sir JOHN NEWPORT, pursuant to notice, rose 10 cell the attention of the Hous . to a measure which • intimately concerned what must now be confessed by boil' sides of the House as absolutely necessary, !Wily. He referred to several Resolutions of the Irish Parliament in "the year 1784, relative to the ar.:nting , of . pensions as, rewards • for services, and citieFiy• that which enaaed that no revenue officer should be entitled to retire on a salary till after a pe riod of 40 years blamekss service. Ile next teterred to the 9th Report of the Commissioners of Parlia mentary Liquify, v. hid' condemns the case in ques bun as a gross violation of the salutary rules which were laid down for the encouragement of economy. On these grounds„ therefore, he moved the follow ing Resolutions Those of the Irish Parliainent. 2. _The 9th Report of the Commissioners Of Parlia mentary Inquiry, which says that the late Treasurer • t the Post:Office, Dublin, after holding that situ • ation for eight years, has been superanuated, wilh out having discharged any servica whatsoever. Arvi that the House consici•.:qs he has neither riglit,or to this - pension, but that it is a-violation of Ct:0110111 V. Mr. WELLEiLEY POLE said, he had listened ,With attention to what haq fallen from the Houourable . Baronet, and-would now, with - the permission of . the House, shortly state his, easons for dissenting from the motion. There was no man more sensi-' ble than he was of the necessity of adopting, upon all occasions, rational economy, or who approved more than he did of the resolutions of the House of the House of Commons, tespeaing the period of 'superannuation. ,He begged leave also to state, that, as•far as he had had an opportunity of observ ing, no person could .be more desirous of attending to these objeas, 'and of enforcing economy, where ever it could be practised,..than the present Lord Lieutenant, the Duke of Richmond. With reaped to the subject now before the House, he begged to state, that it appeared to him that'the Commis:dpn ers had taken a mistaken view of the case. The Hon. Baronet had stated the retirement of the Trea surer of the Post Office in Ireland, as if he had been superannuated upon his lull pay, after having served the office only eight ye.as. Now, an attentive pe rusal of the Report would shew, that that was not an accurate state of the case. The fa& was, that the Gentleman alluded to was appointed to the office of Treasurer in tad() ; that office was consi dered as a complete and perfect sinecure, and if Gentlemen would take the trouble of Consulting the Appendix, they would find a statement of the per son who performed all the duties of this office.— What were the circumstances that induced Govern ment in,lBoo to grant this Gentleman such a sine cure, he did not pretend to know, but the faet was, that he retained his office through several strations, iu one of which,the Honourable Baronet was Chancellor of the Exchequer, and that he al ways held it as a complete sinecure. He believed he should not be contradiaed when he stated, that it was an established principle, that whenever a sine cure place was taken away from a person, for the purpose of making any reforms or improvements in an office, a compensation- was always given to that person. Thus Gentleman held his office by a patent during pleasure. He need not tell Gentlemen that patent places were of two kinds, sortie removable with the Administration, and others from which the person cannot be rer:oved unless he be guilty'of some tuiscotrdu&—and the office in question was of the latter description. In the year 1807, an able Report•was transmitted to Gov'erument from the Post Masters General, stating the absolute necessity there was of a reform in their office ; and, among other alterations and improvements which they sug gested to make the office efficient, they particularly pointed out the expediency of a complete alteration in the offices of the Treasurer and the Accountant. ii "Mr. W. Pole here read an extraa from the Post Master General's Report, in which this object was strongly enforced.] --prom the extract which he had read, it appeared clear, that the office of Treasurer was considered as a sinecure, and that the Post Masters never had it in their view to call upon this Gentleman to perfOrm"the duties of the office, for tire> merely expressed a hope, that upon the death of the persons then holding the offices of Treasurer arid Accountant, the , grant would be made to effi- - caent persons. He flattered himself that he had said enough to shew that the office was not of the oescrosoon wnrcn the Honourable Baronet 'had re:- presented, and that, being a sinecure office, held by patent, it did not come within the meaning of the Resolution to which he had alluded. The Honour able Baronet had thought proper, not in a very re-: gular way (though he did not complain of it), to al lude to a private conversation which had passed be- - tween hint and the Honarable Baronet. The Ho nourable Baronet had supposed him to go much fur 'ther in that conversation than he had actually done. He never meant to say, nor ever did say, that he would rely upon so paltry a plea as that of recri , miattion ; he never would think of defending any part of his conduct upon such grounds. The ex pressimi he had made use of to the Honourable Baronet was this: " I will convince you out of your own mouth ;" and he would now state what he alluded to. In the beginning of 1807, the Hon. .Bart. had framed a Bill for the abolition of certain offices that were useless, and the reform of certain others that were in part useless. In this Bill the offi ces of that de scription as were vacant, should nut be filled up ; and that such as were not vacant, should be abo lished after the death of the then possessor. But it never occurred to the Hon. Baronet to call upon the holders of these offices to do more than they did then. This appeared to him to be a complete justification of the Duke of Richmond. This per son had held the office for.saveral years without doing any duty—he had received the place as a sine cure, and it h,id always been , aousidered as a sine cure, and it was thought that under these circum st:ince4 he could not be called upon to perform new duties. It was principle upon which this Gentleman had been permitted to ,retire, and that principle was distinaly ackeowledged iii the Honourable Baronet's Bill. It was to establish that point that be had referred to the Honourable Ba ronet's Bill, and not with airy view of recrimination. An Hon. Gentleman opposite to him (Mr. Whit bread) had said lie was sore when any allusion was made to him. If he was sure, he would not shrink from the touch, he would never avoid investigation. Bin' he assured-the Hon. Gentleman, although he would never suffer hiinself to be attacked unjustly; he never Would, do the other hand, defend any measure or any at which he thought was improper. He had now stated the general grounds upon which this Gentleman was allowed to retire; with respect to any other part of the arrangement he was per tealy in the dark. He had found no trace IA 'the office, except merely the order for the retirement.— He was allowed to retire, on his salary of 5.001. a year; and a person.had been appointed to succeed him, with a salary of 6001.-a year, in cunaequence of the great duties which he was required to per form. His Noble Relative who was in office at the time (Lord Wellington) was now oh sent, and therefore he teuid n e not ascertain th particplar can.es which.-induced him , to advise it. He had written to the DaV of Richmond tespeal fully to solicit an explanation, and the alas w er he had received was in substance the alarie as that which he had stated to the House. There was no man more anxious to promote real economy than the Duke of Richmond, but at the same time, he would not be guilty of injustice to an individual merely to avoid popular clamour. His Grace thought that re form in the Post-Office was necessary ; and he did not- think that, in order to effeet that objedt, he had a right to take away a Patent Office without giving a compensation. Having stated' thus much, and feeling that a great part of the Hon. Baronet's reso lution contained a mere detail of fats, to which he could' not'give a dired negative, he should therefore mole the previous question. Mr. BATHURST made a few remarks, to which Mr. W. POLE replied. Mr. WHITBREAD thought the Hon. Member spoke very much in the :dark ; he said that patent offices were Of such a nature that no change of po lilies ever interfered with them. The person in question he understood to be in the prime.of life, : and perfedtly capacitated to discharge his duty to Government ; the year 1800 he said was fertile in compensation of offices in Ireland. Could it be possible, he asked, that Ministers would consent to go into the previous question, and quietly to lavish away 1 tool. a year ? He wished the R'ght Hon. Gentleman had given the House some more infor mation respediing this office. Mr. WELLESLEY POLE said ,he was ready to give every explanation in his power. This office was given to the Gentleman alluded to - in / 1800—it was given as a sinecure and held as a sinecure. The du ties of the Treasurer were perforMed by a Clerk in the office. Upon the recommendation of the Post- Masters, he gave up his Patent, .and another re sponsible and efficient officer was appointed in his room, and he was allowed to retire upon his salary. This was all that appeared in the records of his office, the word superannuation did not occur imthe business. The CHANCELLOR of the Excusiattga stated that. it was not in its nature a surrannuation, but a com pensation for the abolition of an office • in support • of this, he adduced, as an instance, the,office of Master of the Rolls in Ireland, subsNuent to the Union. Sir S. ROMILLY earnestly entreated the - House would not go to the previous question. The ex cuse which was alleged, of its being a sinecure, be considered rather as..an aggravation of the case. • Mr. GRATTAN mentioned the . Resolutions' of 1784, which particularly condemned the practice of superannuating young men ; _he recollected hearing in the Irish House that they should all appear at the Bar, to shew what vigorous peresons were thus con-. sidered. Mr. P. MooRE, in general, thought the reports of Committees should be disregarded. Mr: GILES spoke in favour of the Resolutions. The SOLICITOR-GENERAL was of opinion that this case did not come within the rules laid down by the Irish House of Commons. He asked, was this House to adopt the opinions of Commissioners ?--• . This circumstance was by no means a case of su perannuation, but a compensation for being depriv ed of an office. Mr. M. FITZGERALD and Mr. BARHAM supported the Resolutions.. Sir JOHN NEWPORT replied; and then the House divided on, the Resolutions of the Right Hun. Baronet Ayes . 3 1 Mies' 5 2 Majority for the p:evious question —at THE L ICAL rvir Mr. Secretary RI( DEA moves for leave to bring in a 'Bill for amending the Local Militia Ads. Mr. WHITBREAD suggested the propriety of not imposing unnecessaty oaths, and of placing the Field Officers on Captains' pay. Mr. Secretary RYDER was disposed to attend to the suggestions of any Hon. Member. Mr. WIgDHAM made a few observations, as did also Mr. GILES and Mr. WYNNE ; and then leave was given to bring in the Bill. The Bill was afterwards brought in, read a first time, and ordered to be read a second time to morrow. The Bills for' the better Pre(rention of stealing in Shops, of stesling in Dwelling-houses, and of sieal ing on Canals. and Nxiigable Rivers, were read a second time, and committed for this day se'nnight, it being understood that the principle of the Bill will then be discussed, The Committee on the Embezzlement Bill Was ordered for to-morrow. The Report of the West India Dock Company's Accounts xt as laid on the table Mr. MARTIN gave uoice that he should tó-mor row move for a similar Return to that moved for by Mr. Burke in 1789, on the subjed of the places in the gift of the Crown. HOME STAFF. Mr. WARDLE wi,hed to know whether the No ble Lord (Palmerston) meant to bring forward to morrow his Motion respetting the Home Staff, as the Papers were not ready. • Lord PALMERSTON replied in the afArmative, as the Papers were on the table, and of small extent. The SPEAKER afterwards stated that be had the Papers. Adjourned at Half past Nine o'clock. [For the proceedings in the House of Peers see the lastlpage:] MAI LS: ARRIVED-2 Dublin, i Waterford• Du a-3 Gottenburgb, r Waterford. PRICE OF sTocks .. THIS DAY AT TWELVIL O'CLOCK. Consols _ _ . 68 F i-I .E S UN. SOL/Nt QUIS DICSItt YALSUM AUDIA.T ? N D U‘N, FRIDAY, -MARCH 23, 1810. We this morning received American Papers, from which we have made the following extracts : IMPORTANT FROM CONGRESS. BOSTON, Fes. s.—On Monday, Jan. 2g, Mr. MA' CON'S Bill was again brought for Ward in the House of 11::prt 82otative3, and finally passed, ty a naajority f 21 votes. The corn spondent of the New-York Even .'isg Post has the fu lowiog :smai - ks on tha p. slags of this Bill :...... " At a late hour the question was ittken by ?) ,- 1. I i and noes, and the Bill passed—Ayes, 73—Noes .5`,3, And the House adjourned. " MACON'S bill has passed the House at last. The queition now is, will it pass the Senate ? , It is my opinion that it will. I find, however, various opinion's on - the sub:jet:l - . Some think the Senate will tuck' a war Provision on the bill ; but I think not—war measures are so unpopular, that I believe they will be abandoned. " Mr. GARDENIER declared in the House this day that the country could never prosper until wa had a commercial treaty with Great Britain. No one answered him on this subject. " Mr. G. also observed, that he thought the bill a bad one—a very bad one ; but he thought it better than the Non. Intercourse." If Congress hesitate about preparing - for war, after they have excited a war, let them dread the ac cumulated resentment of the nation. If they hesitate, because they apprehend the people do not meet their Wishes, we trust the death-blow to war will be given by the Legis lature of Massachusetts. Massachusetts has a pa ramount influence in controuling the movements of faction ; the democrats are conscious of the extent of this influence : her decision and energy spew that she, deserves this extended reputation, and we are confident to hope that she will exert it for the safety and prosperity of the nation. EXTRACT OF A LETTER PROM WASHINGTON, JAN.3O. " The' filial question, on the question of MACON'S Bill, was taken last evening, and passed, 73 to 52. The debates were uncommonly animated from the Federal part of the House. No reply was made by the favourites. QUINCY,WHEATOIT,TALLMAGE, DANA, and LIVERMORE, exhibited powers of elo quence that made some of the dastards tremble.— GARDEN! ER closed' the debate in 'a most powerful harangue, shewing the weakness and folly of the whole system ; but as he considered this Bill pre ferable to the Non-Intercourse, he should give his vote for it, as did KEY, and four other Federalists; but they all declared, that they could not take any of the responsibility on their shoulders, as they considered the whole system as ruinous to the country. " MACON'S 13111 was read the first time in the Se nate this day,. and is to receive a second reading to- morrow." ISLE OF FRANCE. Letters were yesterday received in town from St. Bartholomew's, via Baltimore, ai late as the . 15‘h ult. The brig Gypsey, MAIN, of New-York, had arrived there in 34 days from the Cape of Goo 4 Hops ; wt.t.i, place .he left on the 4th December, previous to which, a,fleet had sailed to cruize off the Isle of France, and to relieve the squadron then stationed there. It was stated that all the forts of Bourbon had been destroyed by the British ; and that it was their intention to take pOssession of the Island, to enable them more effectually to enforce their blockade of the, Isle of France. This morning we received some German Papers, extrat9s from which will be found in .a subseqrient Column. Last night Dutch Papers to the 18th inst. reached town. The only article of any importance which they contain is an Ukase, issued by the Emperor of Russia, in which he.acknowledges the complete de rangement of his Finances, a derangement evidently atising from his abject compliance with the mandates of BUONA PARTE. We yesterday inserted the preamble to a Decree recently issued in France, respecting the mode which is to be adopted in the treatment of State Pri soners. This Decree, "we are ,persuaded, must ex' cite horror and indignation in every country in Eu rope, and must render, france itself the abode of the most areadful apprehension and misery. One of the boasted triumphs of the Revolution in than which has produced so touch wretched ness all over the Continent; and brought - France her self beneath the most lamentable and degrading des potism that it ever endured,was the destr lAct.on of the Bastile, but this horrible decree establishes no less than eight Bastiles in France, for the Confinement ,of State prisoners, independently of the Grols al lotted to ordinary offenders! We need only sub join the articles, classing the persons who are to• be the subject. of them, and leave to the Reader all re• fle6lions arising from such an execrable act of 'ati Usurper, who, while he affects superior magnani mity, and virtue, proves himself utterly detiiute of every feeling of .humanity, and who, indeed, seems , to enjoy pleasure in violating every such feeling, and in treating with contempt the opinions of mankind. Here follow the five descriptions ofState prisoners: , 1. Men who have, at different epochs, made an attempt , upon the safety 91 the State ; and 'who - z.v,u/d condemned, did not superior considerations eppose their being bromer re trial. 2. Chiefs of bands in civil wars, whom motiVei of general interest alike prevent frOui being brought to trial. 3. itobberS oldiligences, whom the courts are not able la condemn, though they Dave a certainty of their guilt. 4. Men acquainted with State secrets, having been entphyed by the police in foreign countries, and suspected of failing in fi. delity, but whom it is still unsafe to try S. Subjeds of the. Federative States, who cannot be put upon trial,' because their crimes are either of a political na ture,ar hot been committed before the 4 union with France. I h I \\\'N.